CSU helps to improve pharmacy services in Coventry

Our Medicines Management and Public Involvement & Insight teams have been commended by Coventry City Council for developing a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) to assess pharmacy services in relation to local health needs in Coventry, within a very tight timescale.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, local authorities, through Health and Wellbeing Boards, must produce a PNA for their population and update it every three years.

The Involvement team asked patients how they used local pharmacy services, and received 560 responses in just four weeks. In parallel, the Medicines Management team surveyed the pharmacists to understand the current services and what pharmacies would like to offer in the future – achieving a response rate of 75 per cent. The results of all the surveys were then analysed and used alongside patients’ feedback to assess whether people’s health needs were being met.

The Medicines Management team produced a detailed report containing a number of recommendations to improve pharmacy services in the city. These included raising awareness of the services provided and of extended opening hours; increasing the take-up of enhanced services to reduce demand on A&E; and developing services to support specific diseases.

The project required a large amount of collaboration between different partners, and to ensure their views were balanced equally. This meant the teams worked with many organisations, including Coventry Healthwatch, Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group, patient groups, voluntary groups, pharmacies, Coventry Local Pharmaceutical Committee and NHS England.

Coventry City Council, which commissioned the work, highlighted the teams’ specialist knowledge of the pharmacists involved, combined with their ability to take the lead, identify and involve the relevant partners, and work to tight timescales.

Michelle Poulton, Contract Officer at Coventry City Council, said: “Sincere thanks to everyone who has worked on this for all the hard work that has gone in to ensure this was delivered within the timescales, which were always going to be challenging.”

For more information please contact Jonathan Horgan, Head of Medicines Management and IFR Services, at jonathan.horgan@nhs.net